Getting Off The Fast Moving Train To Get Organized

Are you often so busy that you feel as if you are on a train and the landscape and attractions are going by so fast that you can't get off? You have so much to do that tasks keep coming in and there is no break.

The feeling is described by many as overwhelmed, stressed, or defeated. These descriptions are also used by my clients when it comes to organizing. They feel so overwhelmed that they cannot get started and the train keeps putting the clutter into their space with no end in sight.

So how do you get off the train or make it stop? As you can imagine it does take some changing of behaviors and habits. Learning to say no to additional tasks will help keep you on track to complete current tasks. Many of my overwhelmed clients have a very hard time saying no to a new task or project. They feel guilty if they say no, so the projects just pile up and none of them get completed.

Asking for help is another habit to change as we feel weak if we need to ask for help for a task that seems like anyone can do it, such as organizing. As I tell my clients, we are gifted with a talent and organizing just happens to be mine, but art and singing are not talents I was gifted.

When it comes to organizing, being overwhelmed is preventing you from moving forward so it continues to pile up. To get off that fast moving train you must say no to new tasks, give yourself permission to ask for help, and remember that getting organized is a process not an event. The train did not just start going fast, so it will take some time for it to stop.

Comments

Sometimes it is easier to just say yes to things and requests we know we don't want to do or have time to do. It takes a measure of courage to say no. But saying no is the only way we can say yes to what is truly important in our lives. We can practice saying no in nice ways, such as "Thank you for thinking of me, but no I will not be able to serve on that committee at this time." Then smile & walk away rather than take on another burden.

NAPO-Ohio is a legal entity separate and distinct from NAPO, Inc. (the National Assoc of Productivity & Organizing Profs) and is not entitled to act on behalf of or to bind NAPO, contractually or otherwise.

NAPO-Ohio Chapter Members are a legal entity separate and distinct from NAPO-Ohio and are not entitled to act on behalf of or to bind NAPO-Ohio, contractually or otherwise.